This invention relates to a chemical agent leak detector which adsorbs the vapor of the leaking chemical munition and upon so doing undergoes a change in its electrical resistance according to a known correlation.
A need exists to monitor chemical agent munitions to determine if these munitions are leaking and thus represent a potentially dangerous situation. Presently the identification of defective munitions requires an operator to open an access to the munition and to place a sampling device within the munition cavity. The sampling devices presently being used are glass tubes containing reactive chemicals which produce a colorimetric change in the presence of chemical agent vapors. The operator must draw a vapor sample from within the munition, either manually with a hand pump or with an external vacuum pump, into the detector tube. After the sample is removed, the operator visually checks for any color change and recaps the access plug.
The use of such detector tubes is unsatisfactory for many reasons. First, it requires the operator to generate a access to the munition cavity each time the munition is analyzed which is an inconvenience and a hazard in its own right. Second, this exposes the operator to potential chemical contamination. Third, since the detection tubes utilize chemical reagents which in turn have a limited life span, such detector tubes must be periodically replaced. Fourth, a cost is incurred due to the need to maintain a functional inventory of such tubes. Fifth, this type of analysis is manpower intensive.